little penang

named after penang island in malaysia, little penang offers authenticmalaysiancuisine in the heart of wellington. looking for a warm & filling hot meal for a casual lunch, my partner and i enjoyed our first time at little penang this weekend.

on our visit, about 1pm on a saturday afternoon, little penang was busy and crowded as always. however, the restaurant is spacious and accommodates many tables for guests, which adds to the vibrant and lively atmosphere. to me, the decor is rather plain, and if they had dim lighting, candles, and a cocktail menu, i would also love to come here for a classy dinner or date night.  

the food selection features a variety of meats and vegetables with different sauces & curries, which are all displayed in a cabinet at the front. i chose one labelled 'mild vegetable', served with rice, adding a turmeric chicken drumstick. along with a drink, charlie's orange & mango honest fizz, the three came to $19.30. 

my mild vegetable curry dish served vegetables including carrots, potatoes, tofu, and mushrooms, while also being served with cucumber, egg, and the most deliciously flavoured peanuts. i absolutely loved them and wish i could simply order a dish with the peanuts and rice. overall, i enjoyed my vegetables and rice - there was a pleasant and tasty variety served in generous portions. my turmeric chicken drumstick was average; it was enjoyable but could've been more flavoursome and tender.

my partner chose the mild chicken curry dish and added a pork bun, spending $15.80. he had the pork bun first and liked the texture because it was baked, as well as the delicious pork inside. he chose noodles to be served with his chicken and thought they complemented each other well; he loved the mildly spiced chicken that wasn't too hot, the curry it was drenched in and the overall flavours. while he enjoyed the chicken he thought it was a little dry. 

overall, a great first experience at little penang. the restaurant has a warm and inviting atmosphere, and the food is very wholesome, homely, and nourishing. i'd highly recommend little penang if you crave delicious and authenticmalaysiancuisine that is simple and affordable.

i have now visited the legendary little penang on a number of occasions, and am yet to be let down by this fine establishment.

within my humble family lil' penang has a wondrous reputation, and is acclaimed just as highly as the 1997 cult classic australian comedy 'the castle. 

as a relative newcomer to the empire of penang i was worried that the lofty expectations created by my peers would lead to inevitable disappointment at a mediocre inner citymalaysianjoint. however, just as if witnessing the fulfillment of a great prophecy my heart was warmed as i accepted the embrace of a mystical place no longer foreign to me - and i knew that what had been whispered was true.

it just seems to have the balance of everything i look for in a restaurant, a diverse and authentic menu full of interesting flavours; a warm and lively atmosphere; very reasonable prices and grand serving sizes; and above all, that feel good x-factor which is so hard to pin down.

if anything, the only thing it could be missing is the one absolute knock out dish but there are many which come close. my personal favourite would have to be the sumptuous otak otak, as i am a sucker for the freshness and vibrancy of coconut and fish.

please, do yourself a favour and visit this sacred spot.

outstanding service but the food is more like fusionmalaysianfood

definitely the bestmalaysianfood in welly!

this place is really busy but it still worth the wait.

only waited for 5 min before we get a seat.

love the food and they have set menu which i find this wonderful. i cant remember where in auckland i could find set menu option inmalaysiancuisine.

having this in wellington is definitely something new for me.

plenty of seats. efficient staff and delicious food.

a cozy place to eat on a rainy friday night. at first glance the place looks small and packed but we were seated quickly. despite the chaoticness of the end of the week, bad weather and mass amount of people waiting, the staff never failed to provide such friendly service with patience.

the food came out promptly, fresh and hot.
the nasi lemak can be ordered as a "quick meal combo" that came with your choice of a side. we chose the mango salad for one set and the vegetable fritter for the other (i think the vegetable fritter might not be available as an option for a side now but hopefully it will be again).

the nasi lemak served here is distinctive and not like what you'd normally see at othermalaysianrestaurants. usually to be half a hard boiled egg instead a piece of fried egg is served. the sambal sauce here looked and tasted more like some sort of chutney (though i could be wrong). the rice was a bit too rich for my liking and contained too much obvious solidified coconut cream chunks in it.
the sides of mango salad and vegetable fritter was absolutely delicious! and rarely seen onmalaysianrestraurant menus. the salad was light and fresh and the vegetable fritter was crunchy and crispy without being oily. the curry puffs and teh tarik is always a good companion to go with any mains. the teh tarik came out hot, just what was needed on a wet night and smooth and creamy without being too sweet.

overall, little penang was a fantastic experience to try a different version of nasi lemak. the restaurant is a comfy place that really makes you feel at home.

love this restaurant, it’smalaysianauthentic food, big portions at good price, delicious! definitely will come back again next time when visiting welly again!

food: 5/5
service: 5/5
ambience: 5/5
cost: 5/5

from auckland and this was recommended by ourmalaysianfriend. hands downs, the best place for authenticmalaysiancuisine tasted by far. from the flavours, price, service to the stunning artwork on the wall. can’t wait to be back!

bestmalaysianin wellington by far. i'm from auckland and come down here a few times a year. second time i've visited this place and i'm not dissapointed at all.

good price, good quality, friendly service.

i had the char kuay teow. i usually go for hokkien mee or wat tan hor in anymalaysianplace but they didn't have this so kuay teow it was. decent amount of chicken and prawns. full of chinese pork sausage just the way i like it. when i asked for sambal the lady went and grabbed a lot of it. you never get that anywhere in nz, it's always just a small portion.

they even have kuih.

keep up the hard work, i will be back for sure. hopefully with more people and i will be recommending you.

we give them 3.5 star.
after reading many reviews, we came with a very high expectation. the food was nice and good value for money but they didn't wow us. our usualmalaysianrestaurant in auckland still top them. however, we will definitely come back if we visit wellington again.

the place is looking simple but they do deliver deliciousmalaysianfood. my friends and i had late lunch in here. overall we liked our meal but nothing special. maybe because i’ve tried heaps ofmalaysiancuisines in different places. i didn’t not like the way they cooked the roti, its a little too crispy for my liking. in addition, i ordered the mango salad i like the flavour profile but i hardly saw/tasted mango in it. there were more pineapples than mango. i wouldn’t call it mango salad.

have been here twice in the last month, and quite regularly over the past year. truly amazingmalaysianfood, delicious authentic flavours, and very consistent. honestly pretty much everything is good on the menu, though i keep going back for the new goreng. the service, while occasionally a little abrupt, is extremely efficient. the terrace outlet is also excellent.

thismalaysianrestaurant reminds me of home. the menu is unique, so unique that you can even find these in auckland.

the dishes taste very very similar to what i have back home in penang. for the price and the portion it can never go wrong.

tried pretty much half of the menu and there aren’t any dishes that you wouldn’t like.

i would recommend the claypot rice, mee goreng, mee siam and the pasembur salad were so good that you wish there were more.

this place is constantly busy so i would suggest go in when it’s not peak hour. do expect a long wait at lunch or dinner time.

highly recommend clay-pot rice with an egg added! nicemalaysianrestaurant, it would be better if more food are provided. however, the environment and the taste are fantastic

very good, tasty, and authenticmalaysianrestaurant i sometimes go to. always popular and crowded. surely it’s pricey if you know how much it costs back in malaysia, but that’s the kiwi price, as things are more expensive here, and it’s more or less the same as other places in the city.